A bit blurry but lovely even still. Taken during an afternoon giro today.
28 April 2007
26 April 2007
Chef
Dear OH made a "gateau di patate" yesterday. It's made with potatoes - not mashed with a normal masher, but put through a device which looks like an item of medieval torture apparatus. You might know what I'm talking about. Might not. Also added are chopped salumi of your choice - prosciutto cotto, salami etc, plus provola and parmesan. An egg is used to bind it together. Add parmesan on top plus bread crumbs if you like, then cook it all in the oven. It's nice flexible recipe and is good hot or cold.
I consider myself fortunate that my OH loves to cook. I enjoy cooking too but to have to cook everyday would become too much of a chore mi sa, so it's nice to be able to share the load.
I consider myself fortunate that my OH loves to cook. I enjoy cooking too but to have to cook everyday would become too much of a chore mi sa, so it's nice to be able to share the load.
25 April 2007
Buongiorno a Lei
Something which has confused me from the start in Italian is the formal way of talking to someone, which we don't use in English.
It's basically constructed in the same way as using the third person. So instead of saying "Hai capito?" you would formally say "Ha capito?".
If someone uses it with me I initially think they are talking to someone else and I look around to see who they're talking to, then realise it's *me*!
Yesterday I had to talk formally to someone. RE-SPEC-T was due you see. OH (showing little faith) said I bet you had problems using Lei aka the formal form, and I said "No, I just pretended I was talking to someone else". That makes it much easier. You look at the person you're talking to, but in your head you're really talking to the person next to him.
Che confusione!
Even after years and years of knowing someone some people still use Lei. In some situations I can understand, for example in a work environment. But I've seen it used within the family, from daughter/son in-law to parents-in-law, which I find hard to understand when many years of marriage have passed by. I know it's to show respect, but I find it distancing and so could limit the kind rapport which will develop...Though when you start off with Lei I could understand it being difficult to change to "tu".
It's basically constructed in the same way as using the third person. So instead of saying "Hai capito?" you would formally say "Ha capito?".
If someone uses it with me I initially think they are talking to someone else and I look around to see who they're talking to, then realise it's *me*!
Yesterday I had to talk formally to someone. RE-SPEC-T was due you see. OH (showing little faith) said I bet you had problems using Lei aka the formal form, and I said "No, I just pretended I was talking to someone else". That makes it much easier. You look at the person you're talking to, but in your head you're really talking to the person next to him.
Che confusione!
Even after years and years of knowing someone some people still use Lei. In some situations I can understand, for example in a work environment. But I've seen it used within the family, from daughter/son in-law to parents-in-law, which I find hard to understand when many years of marriage have passed by. I know it's to show respect, but I find it distancing and so could limit the kind rapport which will develop...Though when you start off with Lei I could understand it being difficult to change to "tu".
22 April 2007
21 April 2007
Shopping. Warning: This post is ranty
There was an ad on TV for 10% off at Careffour (=big supermarket) this week. Hmmm. The last time I went there we did all our shopping, having followed my carefully prepared shopping list, selected the best vegetables (without plastic gloves on), chose the longest sell by dates and best offers etc etc. Good to go. However, when we got to the checkout, we saw that the queues were *enormous*. After waiting 10 minutes in the queue without moving even *an inch* forward we decided “enough!”. We left the trolley there, muttered a few angry words and went home, foodless. Teach them! - Hard as it was on our empty stomachs.
The business sense there leaves so much to be desired. They never seem to open more than 30% of their tills. Plus the workers at the tills are either on a cannot-be-fired-for-any-reason contract or are the daughter of the owner and so will never be fired either. This means they move at snail pace and just don't care. I’ve worked on a few checkouts in my time and when I did I would get the queue down as fast as possible because I didn’t want the people waiting to start complaining, plus I liked it when my checkout was free. I could show them how it's done :)
DIY checkouts could sort the situation a bit. I'm not sure how they'd go down here though...
You’re heavily conditioned as to when and where you can do you’re shopping here. Saturday morning is to be avoided completely. I look at the deli counter queue and think there’s no way I can join that. Walking back home from work the other day I wanted to buy bagno schiumma at the detersivi shop. A simple task you may think, but again it was so busy and the man is sooo slow in there, so I have to wait until I catch the shop empty. Some of the shops I go in, like the detersivi shop are so small too, packed with boxes, you can barely fit in there. If another customer turns up whilst you’re in there, that’s it, you’re blocked in with no escape.
The business sense there leaves so much to be desired. They never seem to open more than 30% of their tills. Plus the workers at the tills are either on a cannot-be-fired-for-any-reason contract or are the daughter of the owner and so will never be fired either. This means they move at snail pace and just don't care. I’ve worked on a few checkouts in my time and when I did I would get the queue down as fast as possible because I didn’t want the people waiting to start complaining, plus I liked it when my checkout was free. I could show them how it's done :)
DIY checkouts could sort the situation a bit. I'm not sure how they'd go down here though...
You’re heavily conditioned as to when and where you can do you’re shopping here. Saturday morning is to be avoided completely. I look at the deli counter queue and think there’s no way I can join that. Walking back home from work the other day I wanted to buy bagno schiumma at the detersivi shop. A simple task you may think, but again it was so busy and the man is sooo slow in there, so I have to wait until I catch the shop empty. Some of the shops I go in, like the detersivi shop are so small too, packed with boxes, you can barely fit in there. If another customer turns up whilst you’re in there, that’s it, you’re blocked in with no escape.
19 April 2007
Toilet or lavatory? What or pardon?
William (as in Prince) and Kate, as a couple are no more. :( I was surprised to hear about their break up. They seemed so good together. She was good for him, in a grounding normal kind of way. Reasons given for the split vary from him not being ready to settle down, to her family saying “toilet” instead of “lavatory”. Tut tut.
Apparently when Wills was at university he was happy to be amongst the “normal” people. You know, those who take public transport and chew gum, and may even work to earn a living - golly gosh! But since graduating he’s gone back to his old circle of friends who drink £100 cocktails and say “oh yah” a lot. Shame.
Apparently when Wills was at university he was happy to be amongst the “normal” people. You know, those who take public transport and chew gum, and may even work to earn a living - golly gosh! But since graduating he’s gone back to his old circle of friends who drink £100 cocktails and say “oh yah” a lot. Shame.
17 April 2007
Firenze
Last weekend we had a family gathering in Florence. Yay! My family came over earlier on in the week, whilst my OH and I met them on Friday. It was much warmer up north compared to the south. I thought it was supposed to be down here where the heat was. I must say though it was the same when I went on my last flying visit to Florence which was in July. It was baking then too.
We walked and walked around Florence. There were so many tourists! The Florentines know how to get the tourists in much better than they do in Naples I must say. On various occasions I had to ask myself where the Italians were…!? Notice the tourists packed on Ponte Vecchio below. Our hotel was not far from there.
On Saturday we went to Siena. Siena is definitely one of my favourite places in Italy. It’s not too big, not too loud and so near to the rolling Chianti hills. Very nice.
The first evening in Florence we ate in a great trattoria called something like Trattoria Roberto. Tourist free, well, that was except for us :) and the menu wasn’t translated either. Definitely my kind of place. The best dish that evening was ordered by my OH and was steak with funghi porcini sauce.
The following night we tried a different place which wasn’t quite as good IMO. There were too many tourists this time, we were rushed out and they didn’t give us proper wine glasses either :(. Gasp!
We walked and walked around Florence. There were so many tourists! The Florentines know how to get the tourists in much better than they do in Naples I must say. On various occasions I had to ask myself where the Italians were…!? Notice the tourists packed on Ponte Vecchio below. Our hotel was not far from there.
On Saturday we went to Siena. Siena is definitely one of my favourite places in Italy. It’s not too big, not too loud and so near to the rolling Chianti hills. Very nice.
The first evening in Florence we ate in a great trattoria called something like Trattoria Roberto. Tourist free, well, that was except for us :) and the menu wasn’t translated either. Definitely my kind of place. The best dish that evening was ordered by my OH and was steak with funghi porcini sauce.
The following night we tried a different place which wasn’t quite as good IMO. There were too many tourists this time, we were rushed out and they didn’t give us proper wine glasses either :(. Gasp!
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